Soap and Wax Improve Battery Production Cost and Capacity

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory materials scientist Daiwon Choi figured out how to improve battery production cost and capacity by mixing manganese, soap and wax, then applying heat.

The soap and wax help distribute manganese crystals formed when the mixture is heated. Once the soap and wax burn out of the mixture, nanoplates of lithium manganese phosphate remain. These nanoplates have the ability to hold an electrical charge. Because the process uses small amounts of material, it can improve battery production cost over the cost of traditional lithium-ion batteries.